Would you prefer free beer or freedom?

Would you prefer free beer or freedom? Dr Ian Brown

Overview
Open source licenses
Free beer
Freedom

Must code and derivatives be freely available and modifiable?
Free licenses – Berkeley, Gnu Public License, Library GPL
Open source is a “ cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches” –Steve Ballmer
Microsoft “shared source”

Overview
Free beer
Free software
Is free software cheaper?
Is free software more secure?
Who wants security anyway?
Freedom

Free beer

Is OSS cheaper?
Need to take into account Total Costs of Ownership, not just licenses. Windows monopoly means support, user training, compatibility etc may all be more pricey for OSS
But also provides leverage against commercial vendors: “sets a signal for more competition in the software market” –Munich’s mayor, who was offered 35% off by MS CEO (salesman now joined Dark Side)
Avoids lock-in and makes future tenders more competitive. Compatible apps e.g. Star Office are available

Is OSS more secure?
Virus writers like to target widely deployed operating systems and applications – Windows monoculture
Inexplicable security design choices by MS
“ Many eyes make all bugs shallow”?
“ The security assurance problem scales in a way that making it either easier, or harder, to find attacks, will help attackers and defendants equally” –Ross Anderson

Who wants security?
Security = large expenses, reduced functionality, delayed product releases, annoyed users
Insecurity = occasional bad press, and maybe some users switching to competitors' products
Liability for software vendors only way to fix this problem – Bruce Schneier
Possible advantage here for commercially-backed software!

Overview
Free beer
Freedom
Cryptography: SIGINT, PGP vs. Lotus Notes & browsers
Democracy-critical applications: e-voting
Free markets: innovation
Not a panacea: Red Flag Linux

Signals intelligence
Echelon: UKUSA alliance
Frenchelon
Multinationals
“ We steal secrets with espionage, with communications, with reconnaissance satellites” –James Woolsey

Cryptography
Pretty Good Privacy
Lotus Notes
GSM
NSAKEY

e-voting
CEO of Diebold “ committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year.”
“ is the counting of votes – a fundamental of democracy – something you want to take on faith?” – New York Times
Should critical e-voting procedures be trade secrets?

Innovation
Network effects in software already create strong push towards monopolies
Free software prevents strategic competition using software
Interoperability a bonus rather than an occasional grudging concession
New anti-trust mechanism?

Red Flag Linux
Linux internationalised for Chinese market
Does not mean Chinese surfers can access banned Web sites such as bbc.co.uk
Encryption software can be run, but encrypted communications may well be detected

Conclusions
Critical criteria of free software are publicly-available and modifiable code and restriction on derivative licenses
“ Free” software is not gratis and may not be much cheaper than commercial programs…
… but its libre nature can be a genuine force for freedom , although not a panacea

Would you prefer free beer or freedom?

by Ian Brown on May 25, 2008

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Would you prefer free beer or freedom? — Presentation Transcript